Understanding the Basic Concept of Burial, Funeral and Cremation

To lose a loved one is difficult. Then if you have to decide and arrange for the burial and funeral, service makes it even harder. Each one of us grieves and copes up with the loss differently. Every religion has its own set of customs and traditions when it comes to burial, cremation, and funeral service. Everyone treats the dead body in a different way depending on the religion, cause of death, and gender. Nowadays, we have the services of funeral service providers who handle everything from the start to the end.

The three major processes related to the death of a person are burial, cremation, and funeral. Some people already mention in their will what type of funeral or burial service they would want after their death, the attendees for the ceremonies, dress code, etc. Burial and cremation are two ways to dispose of a dead body whereas the funeral is a ceremony to celebrate and honor the life of the departed soul.

Burial

It is the practice of putting the dead body into the ground, sometimes with objects. The body is often put into a casket, which is then sealed and lowered into the pit. A pit or trench is excavated, and then the casket is placed inside and then covered. Burying takes place in many cultures and dates back to thousands of years

In some cultures, for example, the Egyptian culture, the deceased is buried with his /her favorite objects and with all the comforts that the person longed for in his afterlife.

Funeral

It is a ceremony to honor and remember the dead. Family of the deceased or funeral service provider conducts the funeral service Some chant hymns offer prayers while others pray for the peace of the departed soul. Every culture has its own unique customs and rituals that are followed in the funeral ceremony. In some religions, holy scriptures are read, dead bodies burnt, mummified, or even bone picked. The dead body is first cleansed.

In some cultures, the dead is remembered by talking about them, rejoicing their life by drinking or dining.

Cremation

It is a process of disposing of the dead person’s body by burning it to ashes, usually after the funeral. Crematorium services include the combustion, vaporization, and oxidation of the dead body to primary chemical compounds, like gases, ashes, and pieces of minerals that look like dry bone. In the Hindu culture, the dead are cremated, and ashes are submerged in the holy Ganges River. Crematorium ceremony is an alternative to burial in which the body is buried into the ground instead of being burnt.

Archaeological records state that cremation dates back to more than 20,000 years ago.

We hope you will now be able to understand the difference between burial, cremation, and funeral. To put it in brief, burial and cremation are two processes of disposing of the dead body and the funeral is a ceremony for honoring the dead person.